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DAY IN THE LIFE
Small Business, Big Presence
CHRIS HUEBNER LEADS 58-YEAR-OLD DISTRIBUTOR MAC MANNES, INC.
TO NEW HEIGHTS
BY JEN ALEXANDER
How long has Mac Mannes
been around, and how long
have you led the firm?
We have a pretty neat history. Mac
Mannes was founded by none other than
Mac himself, in the late 1930s, as a retail
gift store a couple blocks from the
White House. Mac’s son, John, got into
the promotional business—which he
called industrial gifts at the time—in
1957, and soon he closed the retail store.
Steve Edwards was one of John’s first
salespeople, and he bought the company
in 1984. Steve ran the firm until he
retired in 2007, when I took the reins.
Both John and Steve are well respected in
the industry by those who’ve been around
a while. I’m thrilled to be the next gener-
ation and I strive to follow their lead.
HRIS HUEBNER IS ONE OF
probably a
handful of industry professionals who have
grown up in the industry working for just one
company. From the mid-1980s to the present, Huebner has had
a front row seat for the evolution of Bethesda, Maryland dis-
tributor Mac Mannes, Inc. (UPIC: macmann).
“My promo career started in 1985 as a summer job after graduating from high
school,” says Huebner. “I worked in the warehouse at Mac Mannes, picking and
pulling orders and making deliveries, along with whatever else I was asked to do.”
Huebner returned to the distributor each summer and winter break through col-
lege, working as a bookkeeper and sales assistant among other odd jobs. “After gradu-
ating, I started as a commissioned sales rep, earning a draw less than my salary the
summer before,” he says.
Fast forward to today, and Huebner is leading the company on its journey to
becoming even better. Read on to learn more about a day in Huebner’s life as presi-
dent and CEO.
C
JANUARY 2016 •
PPB
• 97
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